“The love for France is inextricable.” Thus the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, conversing with reporters during a flight to New York, downplayed the diplomatic split with France due to the new security pact with Australia and the United States, assuring “the immense importance” of the relationship between the two countries.
The safety deal and Australia’s related decision to cancel a multi-billion dollar French submarine deal in favor of US nuclear-powered ships sparked outrage in Paris, with President Emmanuel Macron calling back, in an unprecedented move , the French ambassadors to Canberra and Washington. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said over the weekend that Britain was a “third wheel” in the affair and accused London of “constant opportunism”.
France has canceled a meeting scheduled for this week between Defense Minister Florence Parly and his British counterpart Ben Wallace. But on the plane Johnson downplayed France’s concerns. He clarified that the pact “is in no way meant to be zero-sum, it is not meant to be exclusive.” “It is something no one has to worry about and especially not our French friends,” he added.
Meanwhile, North Korea has harshly criticized the United States and the Aukus agreement, the new alliance in the Indo-Pacific signed last week with the United Kingdom and Australia, especially in that part which also includes the supply of eight submarines to Canberra. atomic propulsion because it could trigger the “nuclear arms race” in the region. “These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts that will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and set off a chain of nuclear arms race,” reported the official agency KCNA, quoting a foreign ministry official.
In addition, “this shows that the United States is the main culprit in the overthrow of the international nuclear non-proliferation system.” On Wednesday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles at sea, with Seoul successfully testing a submarine-launched ballistic missile on the same day, becoming the seventh country in the world to boast such technology.
The wave of missile tests and defense deals in the Pacific have highlighted a regional arms race that is intensifying as the rivalry between China and the United States grows. “It is quite natural that neighboring countries, including China, have condemned these actions as irresponsible, jeopardizing the peace and stability of the region,” the North Korean official said. The new Australia-Britain-US defense alliance wanted by President Joe Biden is widely seen as aimed at countering the rise of Beijing.
“The double-cross attitude of the United States becomes even more pronounced and erodes the universally accepted international norm and order and seriously threatens world peace and stability,” continued the Northern official, according to whom Pyongyang “will certainly undertake a corresponding action in the event that the agreement has even a small negative impact on the security of our country “.
Joe Biden has been glossing over every comment for days, but according to reports from the Elysée he asked to speak with the French president. From Macron there will be “a request for clarification”, the French government spokesman Gabriel Attal explained to BFMTV: “We want explanations” on what “is similar to a serious breach of trust”, he added confirming a telephone appointment “in the next days”.